Drifting Sorrow
by Dr.E. Vance
Summary: Wilson get's sued by parents after a little girl dies and House is the only one left to help a falling apart friend. WilsonHouse friendship. COMPLETE.
1. The truth is discovered

**I've only seen 4 episodes but thought I'd give this a shot. I'm going to do what I normally do with my stories. . . post the first chapter and depending on the reviews I get for Chap. 1 will depend if I post the rest. Basically, REVIEW!**

**Disclaimer (because you all knew it was coming): I don't own any of the characters or the show. Only one character I wish I could own and that's Wilson. Because he is tay awsomeness! I LOVE HIM! That's why I write about him, DUH! **

Part I

"It was a dark and hot night. The room, lit by candles, smelled faintly of roses. . ."

"I don't like that story grandpa." The little boy interrupted. House watched as the older man wheeled his grandson out of the hospital to go home. He laughed, not sure he would like that story either.

House was bored. No new patients had arrived and all the ones who were already there were stable. He felt he had pestered everyone except his friend Wilson and Wilson seemed to be having a bad day, but he wasn't sure why.

"Maybe I should go find out. . . later." And House limped off to go bother his boss, Lisa Cuddy.

He approached the door but heard yelling from inside and paused. He normally wasn't a nosy man, but Lisa sounded **very **angry. The glass was frosted so he couldn't see what was going on. He considered opening the door a smidge, but changed his mind and just listened.

". . . can't believe you didn't see it!" House heard Lisa yell from inside. He heard a response from a voice that sounded familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Besides, the response was so faint, that he was surprised Lisa heard it.

"you're sorry. Try saying that to the parents of that child. They're never going to see their child again because of your stupid mistake!" Lisa yelled in the same tone and House raised his eyebrows. He couldn't recall a time he had heard her so angry about a loss of a child patient. Again, the response was barely audible.

"I know an emergency came in, but you should have been paying attention to the directions you were giving the nurse. You have just killed a six - year - old child! You knew she was allergic to it, yet you gave it to her anyway!" House sighed. He should have known – stupid mistakes that get someone, a child especially, killed always pissed her off to no end.

He decided to risk opening the door. He grabbed the knob and slowly opened it. Too bad he forgot that first squeak Lisa never got fixed.

"Who's there!" Lisa stopped yelling, but there was still incredible anger in her voice. House opened the door. At least this gave him the opportunity to see whom she was so pissed at. He looked down to see whom he least expected. His friend Wilson was sitting in the chair staring at the floor, his hands folded in his lap. He looked extremely sad and guilty.

"Well, I was going to bother you, but I see you're busy. . ." House looked at Lisa who was staring harshly at House.

"Does it look like I want to be bothered? Look, I appreciate the concern but I have things to do. Lots of things. Important things. So if you wait, I'll be done with Dr. Wilson here and you can bother him." Lisa said in one breath. House smiled and shook his head, but left the room, closing the door behind him. Lisa immediately began to yell again.

"I'm disappointed in the nurse for doing what you said but I'm exceptionally disappointed in you for being so incompetent! You should have known better and you should have been paying better attention. I want you to go and I'll call you when I've figured out what to do with you." House could imagine Lisa pointing at the door.

The door swung slowly open and House moved over so he wouldn't get hit. Wilson walked slowly out and seemed unaware of anybody's presence. He closed the door behind him and walked to a chair outside Lisa's office. He landed with a thump on the chair and stared into space. House sighed. Something seemed to eat away inside when he saw his friend like that.

He limped over to the chairs and sat next to Wilson, but put a vacant chair in between them. He didn't want it to look like he had cracks in his hard exterior.

"So, uh, I know you enjoy getting on her bad side, but you gotta let others have a chance. You're beginning to go past my quota here." House said more sarcastically than he meant.

"What do you want Greg?" Wilson continued to stare into space. House placed his cane in the vacant chair and turned to Wilson.

" Just wanted to know what you did to piss her so."

"You know what I did. I know you were listening." They sat in silence, for once House didn't know what to say. Wilson said something instead.

"What?" House didn't catch what he said. How could he be so quiet?

"I said 'I'm such an idiot'". He looked at his hands.

"Well, I wouldn't. . ." House began but paused. What was he going to say?

"Yes, I am. I killed this little girl. I knew she was allergic. I knew it, but I told the nurse to give the girl an incredibly lethal dose. I mean she died almost instantly! Died, Greg. I can't fix that. I can't make it better." House was going to attempt to say something again when a shadow appeared over the pair. They both looked up to see the parents of the child. The father was a big man. His muscles were pretty big. And it didn't look like he was going to the gym to get them that way, either. The mother petite, but no real beauty, hid behind her husband crying silent tears. House stood up first.

"Can I help you?" House thought they were an interesting pair.

"No, we were actually looking for him." The man tried to move past House to Wilson but House picked his cane up off the chair and stuck it out to stop him.

"I think you should leave. And maybe you should lay off the steroids." House said with no hint of fear or anger. The man glared at House and gave a small push. Because of his bad leg, he stumbled backwards and tried not to show the enormous amount of pain that had caused him.

Wilson immediately stood and looked up at the man, twice the size of Wilson, at least.

"Look you came to talk to me. Leave him alone." House regained steadiness. The man snickered and grunted.

"Talk? I'm done with talking." He laughed and in one swift motion, slammed his fist into Wilson's face. House stared in horror as Wilson, holding his injured face, staggered backwards into the chairs. House was going to help but instead decided to watch. It wasn't often his friend had a chance to stand up for himself. But it didn't look like he was trying very hard.

Wilson attempted to get up and at the same time, the man picked Wilson up by the collar. Wilson was too startled by his sudden loss of footage that he didn't know what to do except stare down in shock.

"Don't! Lets just go!" the man's wife finally begged. The man snarled at Wilson, but didn't put him down. Instead, he threw him against the wall. Wilson landed with a loud thump on top of the chairs. He struggled to get up. Before the man left, he grunted:

"We'll be back. And when we are, we'll sue you for everything you've got!" and they walked out before security could stop them. Everyone was either staring after the parents or staring at Wilson. House moved them along and then went over to Wilson.

"Are you alright?" House asked. Wilson hurriedly stood up, refusing to look House in the face.

"Yes, I'm fine." He mumbled and ran off. House looked after him and then at his watch.

"Another day done." He sighed and went to tell Lisa he was going home.


	2. Private time

**Chapter two is here. Sorry it is so short. The others will be longer. READ READ READ; REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! – but I'm pushing you or anything.**

Part II

House walked over to the door of the office he knew all to well. He slowly opened it. He still couldn't hide the squeak.

"I can never get rid of you can I?" Lisa was sitting at her desk looking through files.

"I just came in to tell you I'm leaving, actually. So you are getting rid of me. And to tell you about something else too."

"Until tomorrow anyway. What else is it?"

"Just wanted to say that you may not need to punish Wilson."

"And why not?" Lisa was amused at this statement.

"Because the father of the deceased just told Wilson that they were going to sue him for everything he's got and then he well, let's say "pushed" him around a bit." House was about to walk out when Lisa stopped him – now she was interested.

"What are you saying? Is he okay?" She put the file she was looking at down and stared suspiciously at House.

" I don't know. He ran off before I could ask."

"Could you do me a favor before you leave?"

"Aw come on. . . can I go home?" House complained. Lisa stared. House put his hands up and limped out to find Wilson.

He looked in the first logical place – Wilson's office – and there he was indeed. He was sitting in his chair, holding his hand staring at nothing in particular.

"Am I interrupting private time?" House peeked in and getting no response walked in all the way. "If your dead, can I have your stereo?"

"Do I look like I'm dead Greg? I'm starting to wish I was though." He sighed.

"Oh, don't. . . look. . ." House tried to find the right words. "Is your hand okay?" he finally asked moving closer to Wilson.

"I don't know. It. . . it hurts, okay? Is that what you want to hear? 'Wilson's a baby' , 'poor Wilson can't fight for himself'. . ." he kept going. " 'poor Wilson kills children'" he began to sob, still holding onto his hurt hand. House didn't know what to do. He couldn't decide if he should stay or leave. He decided to stay.

"Well if you're going to cry about it. . ." House began but stopped himself. Maybe it wasn't the right time for sarcasm.


	3. How many?

**Here's chapter 3. . . sorry I'm not saying much. I saw the Dead Poets Society about half an hour ago and Neil's death (sorry to people who haven't seen the movie) deeply troubled me. Actually, I'm still practically sobbing while I write this. . . but enough about me. Read, read . . . **

Part III

Upon entering the hospital the next day, House didn't see Wilson right away. He didn't bother with it. He figured he was probably at home moping or something. House made it through most of the day and didn't see Wilson. Then about three hours before House's shift was over, he saw him sitting in the same area he was thrown around in yesterday.

House was walking with Dr. Cameron discussing their latest patient. House tried to find an excuse to go talk to Wilson, but couldn't find one so he just walked away.

"Hey, hello! Where are you going?" Cameron lightly stomped her foot and followed him. House was halfway there when he realized she was following him and he turned around.

"If I wanted to be followed around, I would've gotten a puppy." But House didn't actually tell her to stop so she kept following. House sat down next to Wilson again, but this time he didn't leave the vacancy. Cameron found it funny how soft and comforting House's face suddenly became. She sighed. She was trying to get a patient done and this wasn't helping. She decided to sit down, so she sat on the other side of Wilson. The patient was stable and she had enough time before she got in trouble. House was already talking to him.

"You'll have the floor memorized if you keep staring at it like that it and it isn't the prettiest floor I've seen. You'll be dreaming about it. I think nightmares are the last thing you need now." House could see Wilson attempt not to laugh. "But really. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at home drowning your sorrows in liquor?"

"You know I don't do that anymore, Greg. At least I try to. . ." Wilson half laughed. Cameron was interested in the conversation. What had Wilson meant by that? She decided staying wasn't a bad thing after all. House suddenly seemed to appear worried. Not an expression you see him have, well, ever, really.

"You didn't do it again did you? I mean, one addicts enough around here." House leaned in. Cameron could tell he was talking about himself. But she was still fascinated at the remarks made about Wilson.

"No, I didn't. Almost did."

"How many?" House asked. Cameron had never been so engrossed by anything House had said before until now. It wasn't like she was collecting blackmail. She just liked to know about her co-workers. Wilson paused and didn't answer right away. Just as he was about to respond, Lisa came out of her office.

"Hello House. Dr. Cameron, excuse me a moment House. Dr. Wilson, could you come in now, please?" she beckoned to him. House and Cameron could see two other figures in the office and House immediately assumed they were the child's parents. And if they were, House figured, it probably wasn't a good idea to send him in there basically alone. Lisa wouldn't help and neither would the mother. Probably too worried about breaking a nail.

Wilson got up and at the same time, so did House. Lisa stared warily but expected this to happen so she let House come in as well. Before the pair stepped in, House grabbed Wilson's upper arm to pull him back and asked Wilson the same question.

"How many?" House whispered. Lisa waited impatiently.

"Greg, do we have to do this now?"

"Yes, we do. Do you want what happened last time to repeat itself?"

"No. . ." Wilson glanced at Lisa apologetically and then turned back to House.

"Answer me. . . stop acting like a three - year – old." House pushed. Wilson sighed.

"I had about three and half last night." He said and paused hoping that House wouldn't notice it. No such luck.

"And. . .? I know there's an 'and' in there James." House tightened his grip on Wilson's arm. Lisa looked at the clock, down at her desk, and then raised her eyebrow at House. House smiled at her. He didn't know how badly Lisa wanted to give him the finger at that moment. Cameron was about to leave but found this spectacle to be rather amusing. She looked at the clock. She had time.

"I don't know. . . maybe a couple this morning, okay?" Wilson whispered. House loosened his grip on Wilson's arm, and then finally let go.

"You don't want to go through it again do you?"

"No. Look – can we finish this later. Please?" Wilson pleaded. House pushed Wilson into the room and followed silently, closing the door behind him. Cameron sighed. That was all she was getting at the moment it seemed. She looked at her watch and then checked it against the clock on the nearby wall. Maybe she would come back in an hour to see how things were going. . .


	4. bothered

**Here I am again. And I'm watching the movie a second time even though it made me cry so much. This time I'm listening to music on my walkman when it gets to the "dreaded part" to distract me. Chapter 5 and 6, the last two, are coming as soon as I get them recopied and typed. BYE! **

Part IV

Lisa stayed standing behind her desk. She looked at the group that had accumulated in front of her with hilarity. On the far right was a small, crying woman. Next was a large man with huge muscles – probably gotten by use of steroids. Or at least that's how it looked. Wilson was on the far left and right smack in the middle of it all was House. They all stood like that for a moment; Lisa surveying the group.

"Can we get started?" Lisa directed this comment to everyone, but mainly to House. Nobody responded. The man looked as if he would kill anyone who spoke to him. Wilson tried not to appear nervous, but it wasn't working.

"Is this going to take long? I have a dentist appointment." House said apathetically.

"You didn't have to come in." Lisa noted.

"Sure I did. Do you see the bowling balls on that guys arms? I wouldn't want anyone to be stuck in a room with him when he's angry." House shifted his leg. Wilson put his hand on his forehead and shook his head. The man looked ready to pounce. Lisa closed her eyes and rubbed her temples with one hand. She was getting a headache from all of this.

"You know what?" she finally said. Everyone looked at her. "How about we call it a day and come back in two days, alright?"

"But. . ." the man began.

"LEAVE!" Lisa pointed at the door, her eyes still closed, hand still resting on her temples. The husband and wife left and soon after was Wilson. House finally exited. Lisa collapsed in her chair. Sometimes she hated her job.

Back outside, House stopped Wilson again.

"Guess what? It's later." House tapped his cane on the floor.

"Oh, Greg. . . don't. . ."

"Hey, you're the one who asked to finish this later if I recall correctly. Anyway, it's not like you're going anywhere."

"Yeah, but you have work. . ." Wilson desperately tried to think of an excuse to get away and not talk about the drinks he had. Nothing seemed to sway House though.

"Ah, I won't miss anything. I'm not the only doctor who works here, you know." At that moment, Dr. Foreman, not House's favorite person, interrupted the pair. He obviously hadn't heard about what happened and directed his question to Wilson.

"There's this patient and I think . . ." he began but House stopped him by clearing his throat.

"Excuse me for interrupting your so very interesting query pointed at Dr. Wilson here, but may I ask you something?" House didn't wait for an answer. "Do you notice something wrong with this picture?" Again, he didn't wait for an answer. "Does he look dressed for work? Does look happy? And finally, does he look even remotely interested in anything you have to say at the moment?"

House was still clutching Wilson's upper arm. Foreman stared in disbelief at House. Why was he so rude to him? Foreman did look at Wilson and he met every criteria that House had questioned him about. Foreman sighed.

"How about you, House? I really think. . ." Foreman tried again.

"Do **I **look like I have any interest in what you want?"

"No, but then, you never do." Foreman shot back. House didn't flinch.

"Exactly. So why don't you run off and play hero with someone else that isn't me." House waved him off. Foreman mumbled something rude and walked off.

"I am not a psycho addict!" House yelled after him.

"You heard what he said?" Wilson was surprised.

"No! Who do you think I am? Superman?"

"But. . ." Wilson decided not to go there. He also hoped House had forgotten about what they were really talking about. He wasn't that lucky.

"So anyway. . . as we were saying. . ." but they were interrupted yet again as Dr. Cameron showed up.

"Does it look like either of us are working?" House asked frustrated.

"This isn't about a patient." Cameron looked confused.

"Oh. What is it then?" House seemed to want her to move along.

"Well, I wasn't expecting you out so soon and I was coming to see how it went in there. Is everything okay?"

House was about to say something but Wilson spoke up instead.

" She kicked us all out before we talked about anything. I mean she talked to the parents alone, but I don't know what they were saying." He explained. Cameron nodded while he was talking. Wilson sighed.

"Well, I have to go." Cameron placed a hand gently on Wilson's arm. "I hope everything works out okay. And if you get tired of talking to him," She nodded to House. House pretended to look insulted. "you can come talk to me. Okay?" She smiled pleasantly at him.

"Yeah, thanks." Wilson smiled back. House rolled his eyes. Cameron began walking away.

"See you, Dr. House." She called back as she made her way to a patient. House laughed.


	5. The hard decison

**Here it is! The second to last chapter! So sleepy. . . well, that's what happens when you stay awake till two in the morning playing Dungeons and Dragons! **

Part V

The next morning, House spotted Wilson going through charts dressed in his normal work attire. He was a little confused and he walked up to him.

"What are you doing?" House was incredibly forward.

"Good morning Greg. How was your night? Mine was hell. It's good to see you." Wilson didn't look up from the charts he was searching through as he answered with incredible sarcasm. House was stunned for a moment, but it didn't take him long to fire back an answer.

"Thank you, I'm fine. My night wasn't much better. It's great to see you too." House shot back with the same amount as sarcasm.

"That's great. I'm so happy for you." Wilson chose a chart, still refusing to look at House. House sighed and cocked his head to one side, looking at his friend.

"I could keep this up all day and I probably would, but I know we're both unbelievably busy so why don't we cut to the point. What is it?" House tapped his cane on the floor. Wilson put the chart down on the desk and sighed a deep and shuddered sigh like he was trying not to cry. He put both hands on the desk and cast a sideways glance at House before looking down at the desk again.

"The parents have refused to drop the charges."

"Oh. . . I'm sorry." House wasn't sure what to say. He wanted to put a comforting hand on the man's back, but he didn't want to do it in front of all those people.

"I mean, Lisa tried everything to convince them otherwise. . ." a single tear drifted down the man's broken face.

Before he could continue, House whispered something to Wilson.

"Come with me." And House led him to the only place he knew they wouldn't be bothered. House's office. They entered; House leading the way, a solemn Wilson trudging behind trying his best still not to cry.

House sat down, resting his leg but when he invited Wilson to sit down he shook his head in refusal.

"Alright." Said House. "Continue." He waved his hands. Wilson shuddered a sigh again.

"I got a call this morning. . ." Wilson choked on tears as another single one fell down his cheek. "I got a call from Cuddy and she said that if I'm not careful. . ." he began to finish but changed his mind. He ran a hand through his hair. "They might even charge me with murder."

House was stunned. This was major. This wasn't a little suit anymore.

"I don't know what to do!" Wilson finally broke down. He pretty much collapsed on the floor, sitting on his heels, hugging himself, sobbing. House continued sitting in his chair, watching. His pager rang, but he ignored it.

Not knowing exactly what to do, but not wanting to answer the call of his pager, he continued to sit; staring at his friend suffer. House finally let his exterior crack wide open. He got up and grabbed Wilson's arms and pulled him up. Wilson leaned his head heavily on House's chest, soaking his shirt immediately.

"You're getting me wet." House said matter of factly. Wilson had no reaction to the comment and continued to sob into House's shirt. "No, really." House said again. Then he had an idea. "Come with me." House grabbed Wilson's shoulders and directed him out the door.

He pushed him through the hallways, trying to ignore the stares he and mainly Wilson, who was still crying uncontrollably, were getting. They finally reached their destination. House let go of Wilson for a moment and knocked on Lisa's closed office door.

"I'm busy." Her voice came from inside. She knew exactly who it was.

"It's important." He paused. "I'm not lying, if that is what you are trying to contemplate." He waited. The door opened.

"What is. . ." Lisa began but saw Wilson crying. "My god. Come in. Both of you." She let them in and silently closed the door behind them. House directed Wilson to a chair off to the side. Wilson sat, his crying slowing, now becoming soft and quiet.

"What happened?" Lisa asked.

"He told me about what you told him. I brought him to my office and he just broke down." House explained. Lisa sighed and looked over to Wilson who had finally stopped crying and was now staring silently out the window.

"What do you want to do?"

"Go to bed. Take more meds. Get through this day alive." House responded knowing that wasn't the answer she was looking for.

"House . . ." Lisa warned.

"I know. Keep him here. I'm off in a couple of hours. I'll drive him home." House got up and was prepared to leave when he seemed to remember something. "Oh, and lock the liquor I know you keep during late nights."

"Thank you for the information." Lisa sighed as she escorted House out of her office and locked the door.

"I'm serious." House called as Lisa walked away from her office clutching a file she needed delivered.

Wilson waited a minute or two until he was sure they weren't coming back in and then stood up and thought about what House had offered to do and the warning he gave Lisa.

Wilson was so tempted. He craved it but he kept remembering what had happened to him and it would always stop him. But not this time. He walked up to Lisa's cabinet and opened it. After a couple of minutes of searching he found a secret drawer.

He opened the drawer and stared at the bottle staring back at him. He reached his hand inside and grabbed it. He gazed at the dark yellow liquid inside the bottle and sighed.

**This calls for one of those "bum, bum, bum. . ." moments doesn't it? I'm sure your all curious as to what happened to Wilson awhile ago with the drinking. But I have some questions for people who've seen the show since the beginning since I came into it near the middle (I've only seen about 5 episodes). How long ago did House hurt his leg and how long have Wilson and House been friends? Answer those and you may get a flashback story! **


	6. Everything's going to be okay

**Well, the last chapter. Sorry it is so short. I also apologize ahead of time because the ending is a little cheesy. But cheese is good, right? **

Part VI

House looked everywhere for Lisa, but he couldn't find her anywhere. She seemed to have disappeared and he had to tell her he was going home. He shrugged it off and approached her office, opening the door with a spare key she didn't know he had. He stared in shock at what he saw.

Wilson was sitting at Lisa's desk staring very intently at a full bottle of dark yellow alcohol.

"Did you. . .?" House asked even though he knew the answer.

"No. But I almost did." Wilson responded still looking at the bottle. "I was so close but then decided not to."

"That's good." Was all House said. Wilson stood up and picked up the bottle.

"You know, while I was sitting in here watching this bottle, I figured that whatever comes out of this, I'm not going to let it get to me. Everything's going to be okay and it will all work out right in the end. I sat here thinking about going back to the way I used to be – practically drunk all the time. And I don't want to be like that." Wilson loosened his grip on the bottle. House smiled slightly.

Wilson looked at the bottle in his hand and dropped it in the trash can. House raised his eyebrows and looked from the trash can to Wilson.

"Lisa isn't going to appreciate you tossing her liquor."

"It's for her own good." Wilson laughed. "Take me home Greg." He opened the door. Wilson stopped by his office to grab his coat. The came to the hallway that led to the exit.

"You know, I heard this interesting story a couple of days ago." House strode next to Wilson.

"Really? This is going to be gross isn't it? How does it start?" They got closer to the exit.

"It was a dark and hot night. The room, lit by candles, smelled faintly of roses. . ." They continued walking.

"I don't think I'm going to like this story Greg." Wilson laughed as they pushed open the door and walked out into the late afternoon sunshine together.

**I told you it was cheesy. But I couldn't have him drink it. He had enough problems to handle already. I know you are all wondering about what happened to him and what he meant about "practically being drunk all the time." If someone can answer the questions I asked at the end of chapter 5, there is a possibility that I may write a flashback story to explain what happened. REVIEW!**


End file.
